1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hand-operated construction equipment, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for cutting building material.
2. Description of Related Art
During the construction of wooden structures, it is often necessary to use a relatively large amount of lumber. For example, lumber may be typically used to form both interior and exterior walls of buildings and houses, and may also be used to fabricate forms which are used when pouring concrete foundations. In addition, lumber is used in siding, wooden decks or porches, wooden floors and so forth. Because lumber is typically purchased in predetermined lengths, it is often necessary to repeatedly cut lumber to form wooden structures.
Because lumber is relatively heavy and bulky, it is often difficult to uniformly cut the lumber such that the cut is straight and in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the length of the lumber. The reason for this difficulty is that a relatively large effort is required to repeatedly position an often long piece of lumber each time a cut is to be made. In addition, it is often difficult to position and secure a piece of lumber with one hand, and accurately position a hand-held electrically operated circular saw with the other hand. These problems are compounded by the fact that circular saws are relatively difficult to control with one hand while lumber is being cut.
While the use of table saws and radial arm saws may overcome some of these problems, they are often of little use to the craftsman who may find it virtually impossible to repeatedly transport these heavy pieces of equipment to different job sites. Even when they are taken to the job site, they must generally be left overnight where they then become vulnerable to thieves. Accordingly, there is a need for a relatively lightweight and compact device which enables the craftsman to make uniform cuts in lumber with relative ease.